Glossier
A case study analysis that takes a deep dive into Glossier, a cosmetics company, through an ethical perspective as the millennial, cult favorite brand faced racist claims from consumers and employees.
Skin First. Makeup Second. Smile Always.
Emily Weiss CEO & Founder
Blam Dot Com - Staple Product
Clean Skin & Makeup
Display in Sephora per Recent Partnership
Olivia Rodrigo for Glossier
Even a high coverage foundation can’t cover up racism.
Glossier, a direct-to-consumer beauty brand, laid off 80 employees in January 2022 directly after the company gained an $80 million in a series E round of funding. After suddenly laying off a third of its corporate workforce, past racist claims along with toxic work environments resurfaced and had an even larger impact.
The brand, which had long drawn complaints that its options for women of color were limited, faced allegations from anonymous group of former retail employees on a dedicated Instagram account"Outta The Gloss". The account got a large amount of media attention and urged a boycott in 2020.The company acknowledged the accusations but never agreed to meet the group’s demands. As the nation more broadly confronted racism, inequality and social justice in 2020, Glossier came under scrutiny for outwardly professing a commitment to inclusivity while allegedly fostering an environment that runs counter to its rhetoric.
This accompanied by the pandemic shutting down all retail stores, allowed for restructuring and internal evaluation of the company. In May of 2022, the founder and CEO stepped down as retail locations started to reopen. Though the account has been dormant since December 2020, the brand’s aspirational, feminist image took a significant hit.
Glossier Company Values
Blog: Into the Gloss
Glossier was founded in 2014 by Emily Weiss, an editorial assistant for Vouge magazine and the writer of a beauty blog titled ‘Into the Gloss”that she started in 2010. The beauty website was devoted to sharing beloved products and a source for information and community. After her experience with other beauty brands and advertisers, Weiss discovered a lack of connection between the desires of consumers and what the beauty industry was producing. This prompted the initiative to create a new beauty company from the ground up that would lean into the changing dynamic. Glossier is a digital-first, operating with a direct to consumer (DTC) model. It focuses on the “belief that beauty isn’t built in a boardroom – it happens when you’re apart of the process” (Glossier, 2022). Glossier prioritizes skincare first then cosmetics with a large emphasis on their highly recognizable packaging and aesthetic.
Timeline of Events
“Outta the Gloss” Summary
The Instagram page founded in August 2020 by a group of anonymous Glossier retail employees gathering over 11,000 followers at its peak with 39 posts. It originated as an open letter to the company and its founder about the mistreatment and racism employees experienced. The retail workers, whose job titles are “editors,” detailed specific incidents for which they allege there was “little recourse — not even reassurance of our safety.”
In the open letter, it alleges a customer grabbed a Black worker by the face to “show off”her complexion to someone and also claimed the company repeatedly permitted a woman to enter the store after referring to Latinx workers as “illegals.” The workers alleged there was “an ongoing insidious culture of anti-Blackness, transphobia, ableism, and retaliation.”
“If this democratization is only achieved by perniciously silencing Black and Brown editors and without treating marginalized staff equitably — have they democratized beauty at all, or is it more of the same?” (Outtathegloss, 2020)
“The Demands” Summary
Following the open letter and after gaining traction,"OuttatheGloss" posted their collective demands of Glossier and Emily Weiss.
These collectively focused on open dialogue, development of human resources, retail management, pay and the work environment.
Not all of these changes were implemented or acknowledged by the company as labeled. The collective group of anonymous editors were not satisfied with the response and deemed it "a drop in the bucket' calling for a full boycott of Glossier
Glossier's Position
Glossier's Position
In response to the widely-circulated instagram open letter, Weiss wrote a piece for the corporate blog, which was rejected by the anonymous retail employees running the "Outta The Gloss" page, deeming it “empty words” and “performative” and has since now been deleted.
Weiss shared an updated promise via her personal Instagram page speaking on behalf of the company Glossier as well. In the update, Weiss implies that everything shared in the open letter will be addressed urgently with an action plan in place. Glossier shared the same posts with a different caption via instagram and linked the post in a statement via twitter. Those managing the "Outta The Gloss" account acknowledged and thanked the billion-dollar startup founder for her response, but noted that “[Glossier’s] work is not done. This is only their first step.” (Cocoran, 2022)
Media Framing & Coverage
In response to the widely-circulated instagram open letter, Weiss wrote a piece for the corporate blog, which was rejected by the anonymous retail employees running the "Outta The Gloss" page, deeming it “empty words” and “performative” and has since now been deleted.
Weiss shared an updated promise via her personal Instagram page speaking on behalf of the company Glossier as well. In the update, Weiss implies that everything shared in the open letter will be addressed urgently with an action plan in place. Glossier shared the same posts with a different caption via instagram and linked the post in a statement via twitter. Those managing the "Outta The Gloss" account acknowledged and thanked the billion-dollar startup founder for her response, but noted that “[Glossier’s] work is not done. This is only their first step.” (Cocoran, 2022)
Public Media Discussion
Public Media Discussion
Loyalty to Whom
Glossier and Emily Weiss demonstrated acertain amount of loyalty to the curation andprotection of their company culture andbrand identity as well as their customers.
Disappointed Consumers
Glossier and Emily Weiss demonstrated a certain amount of loyalty to the curation and protection of their company culture and brand identity as well as their customers.
Shareholder Obligation
Glossier took accountability for its shortcomings and stated its plan of action to ensure better treatment.
The Financial Impact
It is difficult to accurately measure Glossier's financial impact during the scandal due to the company still being a private start up. However, the future is promising and strong regardless of the scandal due to brand recovery and action. Glossier is one of the picks for a potential 2022 IPO for a few reasons. It’s one of the most-recognized venture-backed beauty brand. With more than "$266 million in funding and most recently a $2.5 billion valuation, the company is well-positioned to make the transition into a public company." (News, 2021) Glossier is expanding into makeup and fragrances within the past couple of years and establishing both a large online presence and physical stores around the world. Glossier's e-commerce net sales are steadily increasing annually and with the partnership with Sephora their sales will continue to increase considerably.
